Overdue Messsage
by cyclone5000
Summary: Koushiro is not the best at maintaining steady communication with people. But with Taichi, he starts feeling the need to reach out for him. Taishiro. Written as part of a Christmas Present.


_Hi there. So this is a Christmas written for the tumblr use Lokormit, as per a Digimon Secret Santa event. This is my first time writing a full blown Taishiro fic, but I did enjoy the challenge as Lokormit's request seemed interesting enough. Happy Holidays! To whomever reads this, I hope you enjoy it and are enjoying the end of the year!_

* * *

><p>*Bzzt Bzzt*<p>

Koushiro could feel something near him trying to get his attention. In his sleepy state it felt like buzzing had been going on several times like an alarm clock with ten ringers.

Yawning out and stretching his limbs, Koushiro blinked continuously to try and wake himself up. Evidence proved he had fallen asleep, but he didn't actually remember laying down with the intention of sleeping...

Crap. He must have accidentally taken a nap.

He shot up, rubbing his eyes clear of any grogginess and he reached over to his bed side table to grab his laptop. Some people may have enjoyed naps, but Koushiro always thought that naps just sucked time out of the day. Time he could have been using being productive.

Sitting up on the edge of his bed, Koushiro booted up his computer and patted his face down making sure that he wasn't going to doze back off to sleep. Once his screen lit up he typed in his password and waited for his computer to properly start up.

Technology was his habit, to the point where it became routine to check any electronic gadget that he owned. His laptop was starting to flash to his home screen, but within the few moments before his computer was fully operational, Koushiro leaned over to grab his phone.

His flip phone was standard, it's buttons were worn down and it had a couple of knicks in the plastic. It was reliable though and it sufficed when it came to doing it's job correctly.

Though when Koushiro flipped it opened he was surprised to see not just one or two messages, but several notifications past the double digit mark.

Koushiro's eyebrows narrowed, his lips frowned in a thin line. There was only one person...and yeap. It was Taichi.

His...Taichi, was always persistent when it came to contact. Koushiro would send him one text. Taichi would reply back with three. Koushiro would leave him a two minute voicemail. Taichi would call back within the hour somehow chatting away while the sky changed past multiple colors.

Koushiro must have been asleep for a long time in order for him to get so many messages from Taichi.

[text] hey. morning! whats up? I just got back from running.

The same text that Taichi sent him practically every morning.

[text] are you still asleep wakey wakey sleeping beauty!  
>Koushiro bit back a laugh. He could practically hear Taichi trying to make that phrase rhyme.<p>

[text] kkkooooouuushhirrrooooooo

That was the seventh text down. I guess Koushiro didn't blame him for getting so whiny after not getting any replies back. Taichi wasn't a quitter, he was persistent and eager and would never give up no matter how much energy he'd have to expend.

His computer made a tiny beep, the easily recognizable sound of the skype notification going off. Koushiro looked up at his now booted up laptop, moving his cursor to click on skype.

The blue and white calling service flashed on the screen. And the there was the small yellow 'one' right next to, of course, an icon of a cat with a little bell on its collar and Taichi's name right next to it.

Koushiro did have to admire his quickness.

He read the message, Taichi sent a simple 'hey what's up' instead of a long exaggeration of his name with an emoticon tacked on the end.

Koushiro moved over to his desk. He got ready to type out his overdue message to Taichi. He was planning to send him a simple apology and then-

"Koushiro! Honey!"

Nevermind.

"Yeah Mom?" Koushiro responded back turning around in his desk chair to face as if his mother was standing right behind him.

"I just finished your laundry! Can you come out here and start folding them?"

"Okay!" Not dwelling on it, Koushiro stood up and left his room.

After all, folding a small lot of clothes would be quick. It's not like it was a big deal or anything.

…

It was supposed to be a quick chore.

But Koushiro didn't come back into his room until hours later.

At first he was folding up the laundry with his mother. But then he started talking with her and the conversation started jumping around. He stayed with his mother to help her cook dinner. And then when his father came to join the dinner table, they wound up having another long conversation about whatever came up.

So long that now it was well into night. Due to Koushiro's nap earlier, he wasn't very tired. But the sun had already set and the streetlamps were all buzzing on.

Koushiro didn't realize how late it had been until he saw a drained laptop sitting on his desk.

He remembered Taichi's messages and instantly spending the evening the way he did.

Koushiro never felt the urge to constantly be in contact with other people. Compare that with Taichi, who was the exact opposite, and to no surprise you have a giant rift that only widens as the two opposing habits clash.

Koushiro mumbled under his breath, plugging his charger into his laptop. Suddenly he felt irritated by how slow his computer was booting up. There was a small sound of his chair tossing around as he rushed to grab his phone. He didn't bother reading the new unread messages (they were from Taichi anyway) Koushiro rushed so he can type a reply.

A reply that was was way past overdue.

[text] Hey Taichi. Sorry I got a little sidetracked today. What's up?

[text] Koushiro!＼(*T▽T*)／ I thought you were ignoring me!

[text] No. Sorry. I accidentally fell asleep and then I had a couple chores and I lost sense of time.

[text] you took a nap? You hate taking naps!

[text] again. It was an accident.

[text] one doesn't fall asleep on accident. I should know.

[text] I'm sorry. Was there anything you wanted?

[text] ( ಠ ಠ ) what I can't text you unless there is something I want from you?

[text] I don't mean it like that. I mean. You were texting me a lot…

[text] That's cause you weren't responding back to me!(ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

Koushiro's fingers hovered his keypad. His laptop finished starting up and he could hear Skype bleeping a few times in succession letting him know that he had missed messages.

Once again. He didn't feel an urge to check them. They were most likely from Taichi.

Just like all the time.

…

Taichi always tried his hardest to keep in contact with him. He was the one to call, text, to arrange the plans. Even if Koushiro had a stone cold face, Taichi was always energetic and happy to include him in his life.

And how does he respond to that?  
>By ignoring him.<p>

How rotten was that.

[text] I'm sorry Taichi. I didn't mean to ignore you.

[text] lolol you know I'm joking right?

Koushiro swallowed down the growing lump in his throat. He reread Taichi's message, too frazzled to understand it's meaning. He was about to type another message when his phone buzzed again.

[text] i mean. I did want to see you because of something. but it wasn't anything important. I figured some things came up for you so I wanted to see if I can catch you up on some downtime. And i did! =D lol it's not a big deal. really.

The weight in Koushiro's throat dropped in his stomach like a chunk of heavy lead. Taichi was hot headed, and pushy. That much was obvious even if you knew the guy for a few minutes. But Taichi was also kind. So kind that sometimes Koushiro didn't know what to do with it. Koushiro's habits weren't fair, yet Taichi was so open minded and he never got mad for his introversion.

Koushiro appreciated it. The word itself didn't cover all the rosiness that came with feeling so thankful for Taichi's positive mind and soul.

It was during these moments that he felt like seeing Taichi as well.

Correction, he really wanted to see Taichi right now.

[text] I'm still sorry though. What are you doing right now?

[text] its fine lol. but i'm just chillin at home right now. Watching tv.

Koushiro checked the time on his phone.

[text] i know its late right now. But do you think it'll be alright if I came over?

[text] right now? You sure?  
>[text] Well I'd like to but if it's too much trouble then it's alright<p>

[text] no no no no no. come on over! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ

[text] alright. Sorry for pushing this on you all of a sudden.

[text] that's alright. I want to see you too! =D

Koushiro eyes flexed as he read the message. A tightness fell into his stomach and suddenly his head bumped itself into overdrive. Quickly he typed out a simple 'okay' reply. Closing his phone and sitting on his bed slumped over like a defeated spirit.

He had done it again.

Koushiro sighed, but it did little to nothing to relieve the tension that had knotted down in his stomach.

He knew he was different, he been knowing ever since he first realized what different meant. He didn't feel the complacent urge for constant steady contact with people. In fact he felt perfectly comfortable just being by himself and being unable to unwind without having to force on a pleasant mood.

Now it's not like he didn't like people, or he constantly pushed people away or anything. He loved his parents. He enjoyed spending time with his friends. Tentomon was one of the best things that ever happened to him.

He just...liked to be alone. The kind of alone where he didn't feel lonely. The type of alone that other introverts could nod their heads along in agreement. It was habitual, the naturalness of tuning out the world and getting lost in yourself happened without Koushiro even trying. That's why he found comfort in it, it was his natural instinct to get lost in himself and not in other people.

But Taichi was different from him. Obviously so seeing as Taichi was a social butterfly that would get irritated if he wasn't the center of attention. He hated thinking. He hated being by himself. He was the type where the silent treatment was the worst possible punishment to give him.

And it was times like these where Koushiro would chew on his lip and wonder why the hell did Taichi bother with him.

The whole day passed by. Texts. Skype. More texts. Taichi had been trying to contact him the entire day and barely just now Koushiro noticed him.

He ignored Taichi. His friend. One of his closest friend. A friend that...was more than a friend. How could he not feel terrible about that?

Koushiro needed to see Taichi. And fast.

* * *

><p>"Hey." Koushiro's greeting was more of a heavy pant. The cold air combined with his lack of fitness turned his nose pink and his mouth wide, "Sorry." He took another gulp of air, "About coming here on such a late notice."<p>

Taichi stood in his doorway, comfortable in his usual home clothes with his head cocked and his eyes in full questioning mode, "Well hi there," Taichi nodded off, "I'm fine with you coming over and such, but why do you look like you tried to sprint all the way here?"

Koushiro rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, "That's because I did. Well I definitely tried to. I ended up giving up on the running and settled for walking as fast as I could handle."

Taichi shook his head at little, "Why though?"

"Because."

"Because?"

There were a lot of reasons 'because'.

Because Koushiro realized how inattentative he was being. How he felt bad for ignoring Taichi just because he was still so unused to seeing someone on a regular basis. How he didn't want Taichi to slip through his fingers due to neglect.

Because in truth as much as Koushiro enjoyed being alone. He also wanted to talk with Taichi as well.

But just 'talking' didn't feel like enough for whatever reason. He had to see him. He had to speak with him in person, as if it would undo the day that he had wasted away.

"...I uh…" It was all so clear in Koushiro's head but whenever his mouth opened his tongue wouldn't move in the way he wanted it too, "I just...wanted too."

That didn't do justice to what Koushiro was feeling, what he felt and how he strongly he had felt it.

Taichi's face was naturally expressive. Taichi's eyes widened as his arms slouched forward in an brief moment of confusion with a sense of amazement. What Koushiro said didn't do justice to what he felt, nor how strongly he felt it. But Taichi's reaction made him feel transparent. As if that small sentence somehow opened him in half and Taichi could see everything for himself.

"When I said it was alright. I did honestly mean it." Taichi spoke out finally, "You didn't have to force yourself to come over here."

"I didn't force myself." Koushiro responded a little too quickly, "I felt bad and I wanted-"  
>"Okay fine. You don't have to feel guilt-tripped."<br>"Taichi I don't feel guilt-tripped either."  
>"You sure? Cause it kind of seems that I sucker punched you into burning extra calories."<p>

"Well you didn't."  
>"You just said that you felt bad because of me!"<p>

"I didn't mean it like that!"

"That can't be taken in a good way Koushiro!"

"Would you just let me finish Taichi!  
>"Nope!" Taichi started laughing out loud. His eyes closed as his mouth was grinning brightly as he warmly chuckled Koushiro's tension away.<p>

"You just like to make things harder for me don't you." Koushiro scoffed, turning away to not look at Taichi directly. He knows Taichi's charms all too well and one of them is his ability to thaw and churn him inside out just by smiling at him for a long period of time.

"Well I definitely get some kicks from it," Taichi ended his response with a friendly banter. He moved away from the doorway gesturing for Koushiro to come inside after him. Koushiro snuck him a glance and followed suit, pulling his shoes off neatly before following Taichi inside his home, "Though. Just for your information." Taichi stopped walking and turned to face him, "In case you were worried before. It's not like I don't understand that you like to caught up in what you're doing and forget to check your phone. I'm not going to get mad at you over something like this."

"I know that." Koushiro mumbled stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets.

"It wasn't like there was something important or anything like that."  
>"...The way you say that makes me think that there was."<br>"What? Naaah."  
>"What did you want?"<p>

"Nothing don't worry about it."  
>"You know that I will worry about it. Just tell me already."<br>"It's fine. Really."  
>"Taichi I already came this way. Might as just say what it is so we can move on."<p>

"Hm...okay fine." Taichi had a devilish grin. His true colors showing that he was going to come clean since the very get-go.

Koushiro took note of the flipped switch in Taichi's demeanor. Before he could open his mouth and utter words he felt Taichi grab both sides of his face with his large hands. Out of pure reflex, Koushiro tensed at the sudden heat from Taichi's palm, "What-"

Taichi leaned down, making sure Koushiro didn't move away as he softly planted his lips against Koushiro's. The touch was light, airy even. Sweet and simple and every middle schooler's dream that they'd relive over and over again.

Koushiro's eyes were wide and he couldn't process movement properly. His stomach did flips, warming up his core even though his feet were frozen in place and he had no hope of breaking his legs free of the shards. It was strange how such a rosy warmth could rattle him to the core and cause such a bewildered cold response. He could feel Taichi's fingers on his cheeks as if they were freshly lit matches, smell his summer scent as if he was sweating outside. Taichi was the center ring of a fire and instead of burning Koushiro it always slowly melted him out of his icy shell.

Taichi pulled away, smug grin on his face, "The second I woke up and got out of bed, I had the sudden urge to kiss you."

"Taichi-san!" Koushiro's face flourished as he sputtered nothing and tore himself out of Taichi's grasp, "That's what it was? That's what had me all worked up!" Koushiro's grumble was just a thin veil trying to shroud his embarrassment.

Taichi laughed at the excuse, "Well I told you it wasn't a big deal," He still reached down to hold Koushiro's hand anyway, "But come on. Aren't you a little bit happy you came over to see me?"

Koushiro glanced at the outstretched hand, he could feel the cozy warmth coming off of Taichi's smile, "Idiot," Koushiro muttered.

Nevertheless he took Taichi's hand. This time he engaged the contact by interlocking his fingers no matter how obvious his blush.

Because it was true. Despite his need for privacy, his habit of getting losing his attention in what he was immediately doing.

He was always happy to see Taichi like this.


End file.
